Humanism, Secularism, Feminism

Taslima Nasreen

Taslima Nasreen, an award-winning writer, physician, secular humanist and human rights activist, is known for her powerful writings on women oppression and unflinching criticism of religion, despite forced exile and multiple fatwas calling for her death. In India, Bangladesh and abroad, Nasreen’s fiction, nonfiction, poetry and memoir have topped the best-seller’s list.

Taslima Nasreen was born in Bangladesh. She started writing when she was 13. Her writings won the hearts of people across the border and she landed with the prestigious literary award Ananda from India in 1992. Taslima won The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 1994. She received the Kurt Tucholsky Award from Swedish PEN, the Simone de Beauvoir Award and Human Rights Award from Government of France, Le Prix de l' Edit de Nantes from the city of Nantes, France, Academy prize from the Royal Academy of arts, science and literature from Belgium. She is a Humanist Laureate in The International Academy for Humanism,USA. She won Distinguished Humanist Award from International Humanist and Ethical Union, Free-thought Heroine award from Freedom From Religion foundation, USA., IBKA award, Germany,and Feminist Press Award, USA . She got the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for Promotion of the Tolerance and Non-violence in 2005. She received the Medal of honor of Lyon. She got honorary citizenship from Paris, Nantes, Lyon, Metz, Thionville, Esch etc. Taslima was awarded the Condorcet-Aron Prize at the “Parliament of the French Community of Belgium” in Brussels and Ananda literary award again in 2000.

Bestowed with honorary doctorates from Gent University and UCL in Belgium, and American University of Paris and Paris Diderot University in France, she has addressed gatherings in major venues of the world like the European Parliament, National Assembly of France, Universities of Sorbonne, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, etc. She got fellowships as a research scholar at Harvard and New York Universities. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in the USA in 2009.

Taslima has written 35 books in Bengali, which includes poetry, essays, novels and autobiography series. Her works have been translated in thirty different languages. Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh. Because of her thoughts and ideas she has been banned, blacklisted and banished from Bengal, both from Bangladesh and West Bengal part of India. She has been prevented by the authorities from returning to her country since 1994, and to West Bengal since 2007.

EVENTS

Bishoy Kamel, a Coptic-Christian teacher from the Upper Egyptian Governorate of Sohag, was arrested on Monday for sharing cartoons on a Facebook page that allegedly defamed the Islamic faith and the Prophet Muhammad.

Mohamed Safwat, an Egyptian citizen who has pressed charges against Kamel, also claimed that the latter had insulted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and members of his own family.

Kamel, who has been detained for four days pending investigation, has admitted to managing the Facebook page in question. He claims, however, that he was not responsible for the content of the page, which, he said, had been hacked on Saturday.

In June of last year, Naguib Sawiris, Coptic billionaire and founder of the liberal Free Egyptians party, was severely criticized after posting a cartoon of Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse dressed in Islamic garb.

Several Islamist lawyers subsequently lodged a complaint with Egypt’s attorney-general against Sawiris, whom they accused of offending Islam.

Thousands of men and women all over the world have been arrested, imprisoned, exiled, killed for criticizing Islam. Most people shut their mouth out of fear. Hamza Kashgari in Saudi Arabia who posted blasphemous messages on Twitter was arrested and deported. Indonesian atheist Alex Aan has been sentenced to two and a half years for saying ‘There is no god’ on Facebook. Muslim Brotherhood already started working for ethnic cleansing of non-Muslims and talibanization of Egypt.

No progress in society is possible if there is no freedom of expression. Islam, like all other religions, is not compatible with democracy, human rights and women’s rights. Millions of people should commit blasphemy against Islam for the sake of humanity. How many blasphemers will corrupt and repressive regimes arrest?

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Yes, it happens in the Indian subcontinent every year. It is a big patriarchal festival celebrated by Hindus. Men and women of all ages, of all classes and of all castes celebrate Raksha Bandhan or the bond of protection. On this auspicious day, sisters tie a silk thread called Rakhi on their brothers’ wrists and pray to God for their health and well-being. Brothers make a promise to protect their sisters from all harms and troubles.

There is no such festival where sisters promise to protect their brothers from all evil and brothers pray for their sisters’ health and well-being.

Middle class is rapidly expanding. Educated people are emerging. Technocrats are everywhere. Women are becoming more and more financially independent. But everybody will celebrate Raksha Bandhan day after tomorrow. It has been celebrated for centuries but no one says, it is not necessary to celebrate Raksha Bandhan when women are becoming educated and independent and they can very well take care of themselves. Instead of encouraging women to be strong and courageous, people celebrate Raksha Bandhan which is a symbol of women’s vulnerability. The message is, women are weak and vulnerable, so they need to be protected by men.

In reality, sisters are expected to give their inherited properties to their brothers. Many sisters are forced to stay with abusive husbands because brothers are not ready to take care of their sisters. Many sisters commit suicide for being helpless. Many widow-sisters are abandoned by their brothers and flocked to Vrindavan, a holy city where they have no other alternative but to live a miserable life and wait to die. And it is not uncommon that brothers kill sisters to save family honor. If brothers protected their sisters, India would not have become the 4th most dangerous place for women in the world.

The celebration of patriarchy is the celebration of men’s superiority and women’s inferiority. The festival is getting bigger and more glamorous every year. It is alarming.

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I asked 28 people (4 film actors, 4 doctors, 4 engineers, 4 journalists, 4 businessmen 4 politicians, 4 ordinary nobodies in the Indian subcontinent) to express their opinions after watching this video. 3 people said, ‘Wow, I like to go scuba diving.’ 5 said, ‘We did not know much about under water lives, it’s amazing!’ 12 said, ‘Awesome’. 19 said, ‘My faith in god has now increased’. 22 said, ‘It shows the glory of God’.

I sighed and said, ‘We sane godless people are the minority’.

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Both burqas and sexualized ads or sexual objectification dehumanize women or reduce women to mere sexual objects.
The purpose of the burqa is to erase the individual, women are sexual objects, men get sexually aroused whenever they see women, so for the sake of men women must have their bodies covered. The purpose of the sexualized ads is to erase the individual, women are sexual objects, men get sexually aroused whenever they see women, so for the sake of men women must have their bodies uncovered.

Bar-tailed Godwit, the non-breeding migratory birds fly more than 11,000 kilometer non stop, from Alaska to New Zealand.

Brent Geese migrate from Siberia to Western Europe. They travel via White Sea and Baltic Sea.

This is arctic tern that flies from Britain to Australia. They fly more than 22,000 km during migration.

Talking. killing, possessing migratory birds is unlawful almost in every countries. But who cares! hunting and killing migratory birds are common everywhere. Hundreds of millions of birds get killed every year. Collisions with communication towers kill millions of birds. Windmills kill many. Every year trappers in Cyprus 1-million-migrating-songbirds-are-killed-for-pickled-dish-in-cyprus that are boiled or pickled – a national delicacy called ambelopoulia.Birds are killed for their feathers. selling in the black market Oil and gas kill them. Pesticides kill them. Men kill migratory birds for food. Boys kill them for fun. Millions of birds flying to Spain for the winter will be caught in traps, which glue the animals to the ground. There are hundreds of reasons why the population of the migratory birds has declined.

Greylag geese, mallards, teals, pochards, shovelers, wigeons, black cormorant, little grebe, darter, egret, heron and hundreds of thousands of species of migratory birds come to the Indian subcontinent every year. They come from Siberia, from South Africa. The number of migratory birds in many parts of the Indian subcontinent has been declined. Rapid urbanization and encroachment are the reasons for declining the migratory bird population. Birds that thrive in swampy wetlands face a higher risk. Commercial use of wetlands has affected the aquatic ecosystem. Many lakes are dried up. The condition of non-aquatic birds is not that bad. More bird sanctuaries and migratory bird conservation are needed.

Great white pelican

Flamingos

Common Crane.

Many migratory birds are not coming to the subcontinent anymore. Common cranes are not coming, Flamingos not coming.

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No one on earth — or in space — could have created a more complete heroine than Sally Ride.

She came from a family of strong and barrier-breaking women — a mother who devoted her life to working with women in prison and a sister who was a pioneering minister.

She was a physicist and astrophysicist when she answered a classified ad to become an astronaut — and also an English major, a Shakespeare scholar and a tennis champion.

She survived with good grace a global barrage as the first American woman in space, including endless jokes about everything from menstruation to bathroom privacy.

She reminded reporters that women had qualified to be astronauts in the very first class, but had been ruled out only because they were women.

She was always mindful of being a role model for little girls with big dreams. She was more likely to spend time with Girl Scouts than with celebrity interviews, and she wrote a half dozen science books for children.

She was kind towards people around her. She greeted challenges not with fear or competitiveness but with joy at doing the thing itself.

I am very lucky that our paths crossed. If we let her keep on inspiring us, then Sally Ride is with us still.

Sally Ride was the first American woman and the youngest astronaut to fly in space. She encouraged girls to dream. Gloria Steinem said, “Millions of little girls are going to sit by their television sets and see they can be astronauts, heroes, explorers and scientists.” We should not forget that in a male dominated astronaut community, Sally Ride often felt uncomfortable when she was asked to tell the details of her menstrual cycle and how that might affect her time in space, whether she would wear a bra or makeup and whether she would cry on the job.

Those days are not yet gone. Those days will be gone if equal number of men and women become scientists, physicists, astronauts, heroes, explorers, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, technical experts, pilots,doctors, as well as writers, artists, historians, academics, administrators, politicians, decision makers etc. If it happens, we will know that there is no space in society for sexism, and no space is completely male dominated.

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It is difficult to help deconvert a religious adult to atheism; however, many people have become atheists after reading my books. In some of my books, I simply quoted the anti-science, anti-women, anti-humanity, anti-compassion, anti-equality and anti-freedom verses and sayings of the Quran and the Hadith. Most people have no idea what the holy books really say. They just believe that whatever is written therein is all good. Since I started pointing out the ‘holy’ words that clearly advocate for cruelty, barbarity, inequality and injustice, many believers were shocked and started thinking – which is certainly not a norm that ordinary people follow; ultimately, they became atheists. One can never be sure how many days or months or years an adult person may need to become an atheist. Some take a few days, some need decades. It depends on their level of intelligence and understanding. I believe that many adults may remain religious even after reading piles of books on secular philosophy.

In contrast, as I have noticed, it is much easier to introduce innocent children to atheism, before – or even after – they get brainwashed with religion. I have no child. I have met cows, goats, ducks, dogs, cats, rats, birds, bees, and so forth; none of them believe in god. It is us humans that suffer from a god delusion.

I experienced how quickly my nephews and nieces got enlightened. I spent only a few days to encourage them to be atheists. When they were around 5, and started believing in someone sitting in the sky and watching everyone, I asked them, “Do you really believe fairy tales or fictions are facts? Do you really believe that a thing called god is sitting there, who is called most kind and most merciful but he will burn you in hell for eternity only if you do not pray to him or say that he is great? If he is all-knowing, then why did not he know simple Bengali? Why do you need to pray in Arabic? You know about angel Israfil? Why has Israfil been sitting for millions of years, holding a trumpet to his mouth? Why does Allah make him do that? I mean, He knows when the day of judgment is going to arrive, doesn’t He? Surely He could ask Israfil to pick up his trumpet and blow it when the time comes? Poor Israfil is having to stay put, not moving an inch. Did anyone see god? Why doesn’t god show up? Why should you believe something without any proof? Ask something now from god. Will he give you what you asked for? No. People created different gods in different countries in different times. People were definitely ignorant. You know what? No clever people believe in god. Most scientists, writers, artists, intellectuals, philosophers are atheists. You may say that some people you know are clever but believe in god. But you should not forget that they may be clever for somethings but not for everything. People who believe in god say that only humans will go to heaven. Okay, tell me why horses and dogs, or butterflies and birds would not go to heaven? The truth is, there is no heaven anywhere. Don’t get afraid of hell, there is no hell either.” They listened to me carefully. I was very patient. They asked me many questions. I answered all of their questions, even many of their not-so-bright ones.

Next day I bought them some children’s books about evolution and the universe. And read them out to them, aloud. We spent a whole weekend reading and discussing.

After a week, I took them to a natural history museum and spent all day there.

After a few weeks I caught them praying. A bearded man had been appointed to teach the kids how to read the Quran and how to pray to god. They were asked to wear skullcaps and veils. Observing them I started laughing. I laughed all evening. Then I said, “How could you do that? You look so stupid.” They looked ashamed of themselves. It worked. They rebelled against the bearded teacher. They already learned how the universe evolved and where they came from. They became atheists before they were 12-year-olds.

In addition to Saudi Arabia’s 19 million citizens, there are nearly 8 million Asian workers in the country, as well as hundreds of thousands of other foreign expatriates from around the globe, according to government figures.

Saudi Arabia, the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom , is the home of Islam’s holiest sites. It enforces a strict interpretation of the religion.

Saudi Arabia violates human rights with head held high. China, the other human rights violator executes people secretly whereas Saudi Arabia does it publicly. Non-Muslim and poor Muslim workers are not treated as human beings in Saudi Arabia. It has been violating international labor laws with impunity. Is there no nation or united nations in the world that can warn Saudi Arabia to stop bullshiting?

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The difference between pre-Islamic Ramadan and Islamic Ramadan is, pre-Islamic Ramadan was practiced by a Pagan tribe in Arabia, and Islamic Ramadan is practiced by Muslims all over the world.

During Ramadan, Pagan Arabs used to abstain from food, water, sexual contact etc. Muslims practice the same Pagan Ramadan rituals.

It is a well-known fact that Islam adapted the Pagan practice of fasting. There is a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari that mentions the ritual.
Bukhari 5:58:172 – Narrated Aisha: ‘Ashura was a day on which the tribe of Quraish used to fast in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance. The Prophet also used to fast on this day. So when he migrated to Medina, he fasted on it and ordered (the Muslims) to fast on it. When the fasting of Ramadan was enjoined, it became optional for the people to fast or not to fast on the day of Ashura.’

The fasting for Ashura (10th of Muharram) originated from a Quraish Pagan practice. Ramadan fasting came later from Sabian tradition. Sabians are mentioned in several verses of the Quran [al-Baqarah 2:62], [al-Hajj 22:17] , [al-Maa’idah 5:69] along with Christians and Jewish. Sabians, a non-Muslim Iraqi tribe, believed in monotheism, observed fasting 30 days a year, and prayed 5 times a day.

Not only Ramadan fasting, other Pagan rituals were also Islamized. The Ka’aba in Mecca was a center of idol-worship. 360 idols were kept in the Ka’aba. According to Hadith Bukhari 3:43:658 Narrated Abdullah bin Masud: The Prophet entered Mecca and (at that time) there were three hundred-and-sixty idols around the Ka’aba. He started stabbing the idols with a stick he had in his hand and reciting: “Truth (Islam) has come and Falsehood (disbelief) has vanished.”

The Black-stone or al-Ḥajar al-Aswad of the Ka’aba became the central shrine object in Islam. It was one of the many stones and idols venerated by pre-Islamic Pagans. The Black Stone was kissed by people during pre-Islamic pagan worship. Muhammad did not completely abolish Idol worship, he made the Black Stone stay and allowed people to continue the practice of kissing the stone. It is the same pre-Islamic Pagan stone that Muslims kiss today during Hajj and Umrah. The Islamic historians believe that the black stone was a pagan deity called ‘Al-Lat’, one of the three daughters of Allah, the Pagan moon-god. She was once venerated as a cubic rock at Ta’if in Arabia.

Hisham ibn-Al-Kalbi (819 CE) in his ‘The book of Idols’ wrote that ‘Al-lat stood in al-Ta’if, and was more recent than Manah. She was a cubic rock beside which a certain Jew used to prepare his barley porridge (sawiq). Her custody was in the hands of the banu-‘Attab ibn-Malik of the Thayif, who had built an edifice over her. […]She is the idol which God mentioned when He said, “Have you seen al-lat and al-Uzza?” (Surah 53:19)

Muslims in the 21st century believe that the Black Stone fell from the heaven during the era of Adam and Eve. They also believe that the stone was originally white, but it turned black because of absorbing human sins.

Pre-Islamic Pagans prayed five times a day facing Mecca. Persian Zoroastrian tribe prayed five times a day too, in the direction of the Sun or fire temple. Before prayers, Zoroastrians cleaned themselves or practiced ablution. Ablution and the prayers for 5 times are not something Islam invented. The Hadith [Sahih Bukhari Book 8, no. 345] tells us that when Muhammad met Allah in heaven, Allah demanded 50 prayers per day. But with the help of Moses, Muhammad bargained with Allah and finally he was successful to reduce 50 prayers per day to 5 prayers per day. Even the Quran (4:28) says, ‘God wishes to lighten your burden, for the human being is created weak’.

During Hajj, Muslims walk between two mountains seven times. It is also a pre-Islamic practice. Let’s see what the Quran and the Hadith say about the special mountain walk.

Hadith Bukhari. Volume 2, Book 26, Number 710: Narrated ‘Asim: I asked Anas bin Malik: “Did you dislike to perform Tawaf between mountain Al-Safa and mountain Al-Marwa?” He said, “Yes, as it was of the ceremonies of the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, till Allah revealed: ‘Verily! Al-Safa and Al-Marwa are among the rites (or symbols) of Allah. It is therefore no sin for him who performs the pilgrimage to the Ka’ba, or performs ‘Umrah, to perform Tawaf between them.’ ” (Quran 2.158)

Many non-Islamic Pagan rituals are now known as Islamic rituals. Pagan’s crescent moon: the symbol of the moon god, circumambulation, Ihram etc. were taken or stolen by Islam. Muslims now begin their Ramadan fasting after seeing a crescent moon in the sky. Ramadan is a kind of a month-long food festival for Muslims. It is supposed to be a month of sacrifice and Muslims are expected to eat less. But in reality, Muslims eat more in Ramadan than any other month. Some people call Ramadan the holy month of feasting, instead of the holy month of fasting. They make sense.

There are some unscientific, nonsense verses in the Quran about Ramadan.

Quran.Sura 2:187: “Eat and drink until white thread of dawn appears to you and then complete your fast till the night appears.”

Quran.Sura 18:83-86:“Zulkharnain reached the setting place of the sun. He saw that it set in a pool of black muddy water.”

Quran.Sura 67:3-5; 37:6-9: “We created 7 heavens one above the other and decorated the lowest heaven with lamps – The Stars. We made such lamps as missiles to drive away Satan, who try to listen the conversation of the higher group — i.e., Conversation between Allah and his angels.”

There are many Hadith on Ramadan too. The most interesting ones are the ones about Muhammad kissing his wives and the way he permitted old men to embrace their young wives but prevented young men from embracing their young wives. Needless to say, Muhammad was old.

Hadith. Bukhari, Vol.3:149: narrated Aisha, ‘Muhammad used to kiss and embrace his wives while he was fasting and he had more power to control his desires than any of you.’

Hadith.Bukhari, Vol.3:151: Narrated Zainab: (daughter of Umme Salma) that her mother said, The prophet and I used to take a bath from one water pot and he used to kiss me while he was fasting.”

Hadith. Book 13, No.2381: Narrated Abu Hurayrah: A man asked Muhammad whether one who was fasting could embrace his wife and he gave him permission; but when another man came to him, and asked him, he forbade him. The one to whom he gave permission was an old man and the one whom he forbade was a youth.

Hadith. Book 13, No. 2380: Narrated Aisha: Prophet Muhammad used to kiss and suck her tongue, while he was fasting.